Fintech Unicorn OneCard Spent 60% Of Its Operating Revenue On Advertising In FY23

Fintech unicorn OneCard reported a 6X increase in its operating revenue in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The credit card issuer’s operating revenue surged to INR 541.1 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 83.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Founded in 2018 by Anurag Sinha, Rupesh Kumar and Vibhav Hathi, the fintech unicorn offers a co-branded credit card in partnership with banks such as Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda Financial, among others. OneCard also offers credit card-related services such as credit score check and an expense management application. It entered the unicorn club in July last year after bagging $100 Mn from Temasek

The startup mostly earns revenue from interest charges and fees associated with the issued credit cards. 

However, despite the rise in its operating revenue, OneCard’s loss more than doubled during the year under review. It reported a net loss of INR 405.6 Cr in FY23, an increase of 122% from INR 182.7 Cr in FY22. 

OneCard Splurges On Ads

The startup’s total expenditure rose 3.5X to INR 999.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 280.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Employee Ad Expense Surge: Employee benefit expenses stood at INR 130.8 Cr in FY23, a jump of 203% from INR 43.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Advertisement Expenses Rise: OneCard’s advertisement expense skyrocketed 161% to INR 323.8 Cr in FY23 from INR 124.1 Cr in the previous year as the company went big on promotions to increase its user base.

Legal & IT Expenses Jump: The fintech unicorn spent INR 55.1 Cr on legal and IT expenses in FY23, an increase of 166% from INR 20.7 Cr in the previous year.

Additionally, the startup spent INR 436.2 Cr under the head “miscellaneous expenses”, an increase of 501% from INR 72.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

On a unit economics basis, the startup spent nearly INR 2 to earn every INR 1 from operations. 

OneCard has raised a funding of around $200 Mn till date and counts marquee names such as Peak XV Partners, QED Holdings, and Hummingbird among its backers. 

Earlier this year, the startup reportedly applied for a NBFC (non-banking finance company) license. 

OneCard competes with the likes of Slice, Karbon Card, Uni Card, Kodo Card, among others.

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